10/04/2005:
The Chicago Hilal Team would like to wish everyone a blessed Ramadan. May Allah enable you to benefit from this great month.
Ramadan will commence tonight at Maghrib and the first fast will be observed tomorrow, Wednesday, October 5, 2005.
The possible dates for Eid-ul-Fitr are Thursday, November 3, 2005 and Friday, November 4, 2005. The most likely date is Friday, November 4th. Please check back on the Wednesday, November 2, 2005 for Shawwal (Eid-ul-Fitr) moon sighting information.
10/03/2005:
9:30pm The Hilal Committee has confirmed that tomorrow will be the 30th day of Shaban. Shaban will complete its full cycle of 30 days and the 1st day of Ramadan will be Tuesday night/Wednesday. There was only one source who claimed he saw the moon. The committee decided that this report was not credible and has decided that there is no credible moon sighting in the United States.
9:00pm There still are no reports of moon sighting within the United States. We will shortly be getting moon sighting information from our sources in the West Coast. A final decision will be made shortly.
8:50pm There still are no reports of moon sighting within the United States.
8:35pm There still are no reports of moon sighting within the United States.
8:20pm We have contacted our sources in Little Rock, AR. The visibility was clear and there have been no reports of moon sighting.
8:00pm The committee is breaking for Isha Prayer. There will be no updates for the next 20 minutes.
7:55pm There still are no reports of moon sighting within the United States.
7:40pm We have contacted our sources in Alabama. The visibility is clear and there have been no reports of moon sighting.
7:30pm We have contacted our sources in Arizona. There is no information to report at this time.
7:20pm We have contacted our sources in Houston. The visibility is cloudy and there have been no reports of moon sighting.
7:10pm We have contacted our sources in Virginia and West Virginia. The visibility is clear, but there have been no reports of moon sighting.
6:50pm We have contacted our sources in Florida. The visibility is cloudy and there are no reports of moon sighting there.
6:45pm We have currently checked with our sources in the East and there is no moon sighting information there. We are currently trying to check within the Midwest and South.
Some cities within the country have declared the start of Ramadan based on the Saudi Arabian announcement. There are no reports of within the United States as of yet.
09/26/2005:
Astronomical Information:
The Astronomical New Moon is on Monday October 3, 2005 at 10:28 Universal Time. Looking at the visibility curve one can understand that the moon is in the Southern Hemisphere. The moon is about 15 hours old and being too low on the horizon for North America will set in 14 min. after sunset on west coast. It most probably cannot be seen in North America nor anywhere in East of USA October 3. On October 4, it will most probably be visible in most of the world except most of Asia and Europe, where it will be 24 to 31 hours old and less than 2 degrees above the horizon, still not visible. In Europe and most of Asia, it most probably can be seen even on October 5, when it will be 48 to 55 hours old. Accordingly, the first day of Ramadan most probably will be on Wednesday, October 5, 2005 for North America and most of the world, Insha-Allah.
The Chicago Hilal Committee will be meeting at its new location, Islamic Center of Chicago (ICC) on Monday to monitor moon sighting reports nation-wide and to make a decision regarding the start of Ramadan. Check back on Monday, October 3, 2005 after Maghrib (6:30pm) CST for further updates.
